The Ultimate CO2-powered Dragster Quiz

Auto racing is an expensive and technically complex hobby, but it can be just as fun when it's scaled down to where the car can fit in your hand. CO2 dragster racing lets you do just that -- build a tiny racecar that can move at incredible speeds and incorporates many of the same principles as full-sized, real cars do. It also puts your knowledge of science to the test. Think you have what it takes to build a CO2 dragster? Let's find out!

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Question 1 of 20

Fill in the blank. CO2 dragster racing is often called "______ on steroids."

NASCAR

the Pinewood Derby

Because it's so similar to the Pinewood Derby, where small wooden cars are raced on a downhill track, CO2 dragster racing is called the "Pinewood Derby on steroids." That's because the cars are similar, but CO2 Dragsters use propulsion instead of gravity to race.

slot car racing

Question 2 of 20

What powers CO2 dragsters?

Carbon dioxide

That's an easy one! CO2 dragsters are propelled by the release of carbon dioxide, or CO2 gas, from a pressurized cylinder.

Nitrous oxide

A tiny gasoline engine

Question 3 of 20

On a 65.5-foot track, how fast can a CO2 racer potentially travel?

70 miles per hour (112.7 kilometers per hour)

CO2 racers pack a lot of power for their size. They can easily move at highway speeds or greater.

30 miles per hour (48.3 kilometers per hour)

200 miles per hour (321.9 kilometers per hour)

Question 4 of 20

CO2 dragster kits usually include the following items:

A complete and painted car

A CO2 cartridge and nothing else

A wedge-shaped block of wood, a set of plastic wheels, axles to put the wheels on and a small CO2 cartridge

Usually the kits include wheels, axles, a block of wood and a CO2 cartridge for propulsion. It's a blank slate that you must modify into a racer.

Question 5 of 20

CO2 dragsters are designed to look like:

Formula 1 cars

Whatever the designer chooses

The great thing about CO2 dragsters is their incredible potential for customization. They can be made to look like anything you want, but those shapes may not always have the best racing properties.

Drag racing cars

Question 6 of 20

What is the most important factor that affects how fast your CO2 dragster will race?

Friction

Mass

Mass, or how large and heavy the car is, is the most important factor when it comes to design. Simply put, the less weight your dragster has, the faster it will go.

Thrust

Question 7 of 20

How do you test for the effects of drag on your CO2 racer?

Use a wind tunnel

The best way to test for drag is to put the car into a wind tunnel, where air flows over the car's body and indicates how smooth the flow will be. You want the airflow to be as smooth as possible.

Use a computer

It's impossible to test for drag on something that small.

Question 8 of 20

The carbon dioxide cartridge is also known as:

A blast can

A carbon rocket

A soda bulb

The CO2 cartridge, which propels the racer down the track, is also known as a "soda bulb."

Question 9 of 20

The propulsion caused by gas escaping from the CO2 cartridge is called:

Thrust

The gas escaping from the back of the car pushes it forward with a force called thrust. It's one example of the many physical forces at work when racing a CO2 dragster.

Lift

Momentum

Question 10 of 20

The resistive force of the air pushing against the car's body as it races down the track is called:

Momentum

Potential energy

Drag

Drag is the force of the air pushing against the car's body, creating resistance and making it move slower than it could in a vacuum.

Question 11 of 20

Fill in the blank. It's Newton's ______ law that's responsible for the gas rapidly escaping from the CO2 cartridge to push the car down the track.

first

second

third

In terms of physics, the rapidly escaping gas causes Newton's Third Law of Motion to occur -- for every action there is an equal or opposite reaction. The rearward motion of the gas pushes the car forward in this case, overcoming inertia, or the resistance to movement.

Question 12 of 20

Fill in the blanks. Since the cartridges contain an equal amount of gas being released at the same speeds, the car that wins the race is the one that is the ______ and ______.

heaviest; most stable

best painted; best decorated

lightest; most aerodynamic

The lightest and most aerodynamic car will win because the amount of thrust is the same on all cars. Think of it as a drag race between two cars with the same engine but different bodies.

Question 13 of 20

The second most important physical force in CO2 dragster racing is:

Drag

Friction

Friction is the second most important force you'll face. Because the dragster has parts moving against one another, friction is created.

Thrust

Question 14 of 20

How do you overcome friction when designing and building your CO2 dragster?

Add more paint

Use spoilers and body add-ons

Make sure the moving parts are free to rotate and don't rub on the body

Because the dragster has parts moving against one another, friction is created. You can help reduce it by making sure the axles are free to rotate, and that the wheels and tires are not rubbing on the car body.

Question 15 of 20

How does the racing actually happen with CO2 dragsters?

They're hooked up to a launch pod which breaks the CO2 cartridge seal on all cars at the same moment.

Once the cars are ready to race, the sealed cartridge is inserted, and they are placed on the starting grid. Often, they're hooked up to a device called a launch pod, which punctures the cartridges of two or more cars at the same time. These devices can also be built by hand using some wood and nails to puncture the CO2 canisters.

What can students learn from doing CO2 dragster racing in their science classes?

Friction, inertia and mass

Newton's Laws of Physics

All of the above

Building a CO2 dragster can be a great project at schools because it teaches students about aerodynamics, as well as things like friction, inertia and mass. It can also be done as a competitive event or hobby.

Question 17 of 20

CO2 dragster racing is most similar to the real-life form of racing called ______.

Formula 1

Drag racing

Drag racing! It makes sense that a car called a dragster would race in drag racing, right? In that type of racing, two or more cars see which one can travel the fastest in a straight line.

Rally car racing

Question 18 of 20

What do you look for when you put the car into a wind tunnel?

As many swirls as possible

The speed of the air flow

A smooth flow of air

By putting your car into the wind tunnel and putting a fog vapor into the air stream, you can track how air flows over the car's body. You want a smooth flow of air free of swirling currents called eddies. If you have too many of those, you may want to use sandpaper to smooth out the design, or go with a new one altogether.

Question 19 of 20

Why is a wind tunnel so helpful in testing for drag?

Airflow is hard to measure with the naked eye

It's hard to tell with the naked eye just how much drag your CO2 car will face. For that reason, you may want to opt for a wind tunnel. Believe it or not, there are small wind tunnels available designed to test models.

Computer models are inaccurate

Wind tunnels are actually not helpful at all

Question 20 of 20

How do you insert the CO2 cartridge into your dragster's body?

You must drill them yourself

The holes come pre-drilled

All of the above

On many dragster kits, the hole for the cartridge comes already drilled, and when sculpting the wood the designer simply works around it. On other kits, the hole must be drilled out manually.